Come On
by capriciousToreador
Summary: Humanstuck! Tavros returns to school after a month of an unexplained absence. No one had heard from him and people started believing he was dead. He won't tell anyone what happened and he is avoiding people at all costs, even Gamzee Makara. But Gamzee wants to know why Tavros is rejecting him and what happened. Pairings: GamTav, SolKat, and Dave being a total dick.
1. The Fresh Mourning Air

**Okay, so this is my third fanfic and my first GamTav.. hopefully this won't be a failure like my other stories.**

**I know more about the trolls than I should and I'm only on Act 4 where they don't appear often. I just have friends that know hella about Homestuck and I also have read plenty of fanfictions to learn more of the vernacular and character traits. My patron troll is Tavros, but I am technically a Taurus-Cancer because of the sky i was born under and all the jazz. Hehe.**

**Anyway, let's tango, shall we motherfuckers?**

* * *

The morning air was deeply inhaled by a teenage male. Dew stuck to the grass and a light fog trimmed and skimmed over the asphalt, concrete, and moist earth that smelt of rain and dirt. Birds chirped in tone deft unison only to be interrupted by the sound of slamming car doors and noisy yellow school buses pulling into the large parking area.

Tavros Nitram was always odd and people always broke their necks trying to glance at him.

But it was different this time.

He had disappeared off the face of the planet for a month. No one found any means of contact with him and even saw his face once.

He had just vanished.

And here he was all of a sudden, shuffling to the steel doors that would take him back to a mundane schedule of work and academics.

Little did they know that it would be almost less than normal.

People wondered where he was and what happened to the little freak they enjoying picking on, for he was a simple target. He was timid, sensitive, and empathetic; these qualities were so very easily used against him in cruel and taunting ways.

People wondered where he was, but they never asked. They didn't necessarily care enough to.

Tavros hated being stared at. He hated the feeling of their cold eyes burning into him with their unwelcomed scowl. He was scrutinized because he had qualities that made him feel. He didn't understand why no one bothered with him besides a cat freak, a bodybuilder, a bipolar, a smartass, and a stoner.

But now he was thankful for it.

He walked with his head low towards the two story limestone high school and shoved open the heavy doors with a mighty _click pop._ He proceeded to cross over the threshold that he had abstained from for a month.

He just wanted to forget what happened in the month he had missed as he avoided eye contact with undesiring peers.

Tavros made a beeline for the office before anyone of the menacing teenagers could corner him like a little mouse.

The reception woman, Mrs. Ritter, looked up at him and pointed him in the direction of the guidance counselor rather than the principal. He mumbled an almost incoherent 'thank you' to her and he quickly paced across the horrendous, thin, and wiry carpeting.

He rapped the door apprehensively before a smooth female voice told him to enter.

Mrs. Marcie guestered for the thin boy to shut the door and sit down. She sat up straight and neatly folded her hands before the frightened and shivering 16 year old.

"I understand that you have been through hellish things, is that correct, Tavros?" She gently questioned the mowhawked boy. He nodded his head slightly, so she continued. "I was told not to ask you what you have been through because it was very much confidential, but I was told that.. you have, uh, _substitute legs?_"

Tavros closed his eyes and tried not to cry in front of the lady. He slowly nodded again as he felt tears begin to well in his chocolate brown doe eyes.

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably from upsetting the fragile sophomore. "If you feel the need to speak to anyone, come here immediately without telling the teacher. I will alert them to know why you randomly leave or don't appear. I will not force you to speak about whatever has happened to you, but I want you to take a break whenever you need it. I just want you to feel comfortable since you seem disturbed at the moment," She paused for a reaction, but all she got was a blank faced male staring at the hideous blue and grey carpeting. "If you would like, I can assign someone such as a close friend to escort you around the school."

At this, Tavros shook his head 'no'. The last thing he needed was Nepeta prying, Equius prodding at his metal legs, Sollux or Karkat poking at him, or Gamzee flipping his shit.

It was none of their business. They didn't deserve to have a burden thrust upon them. He would never tell them what really happened. He had to beg the government not to let what happened to him leak out or let his name be plastered across the front pages of newspaper or magazines. The last thing he wanted was to stress out and maybe even drive away his own friends and to receive pity from anyone.

It was all so difficult and Tavros suddenly was different once more. This time it would be worse. He could not let anyone come near him, touch him, or borderline interact with him. He just wanted to be left alone.

His brother Rufioh had practically forced him to attend public school so he could be around his friends, but obviously he didn't recall Tavros meeting _her _here. The one who did this all to him.

Tavros shook at the thought of the vile girl that had stolen his heart and then tore it to shreds almost literally. He squeezed his eyes shut and began to cave in on himself.

Mrs. Marcie stood up and quickly sauntered around the desk to kneel by the traumatized kid. She pulled him into a hug and wiped his puffy eyes with a tissue.

"T-thank.. you.." He rattled out in a low voice. "I-I.. c-can I go to c-class please? I-I just.."

"Of course, sweetie. Please just remember that you can come down here whenever, okay?" Tavros nodded his head and the counselor stood up and wrote him a pass to go to second period which was History.

He gingerly snaked the pass out of her hands and all but ran out of the small office and into the school's deserted hallways.

His somewhat baggy black jeans hid the titanium and steel limbs attached to his pelvic bone well. No swishing of his legs against the fabric sounded out of the ordinary and socks blocked the holes in his high-top Converse. He had to be extremely careful about people touching or bumping into him and covering up his metallic secret.

Tavros clutched his notebooks against his flat chest as he tried to ignore the paranoia of being alone in the fluorescent lit hallways until he reached the familiar door decorated with ridiculous pictures of students in historic cosplay. He anxiously put his hand on the handle and pushed the door in.

He mentally facepalmed because all thirty students reverted their gaze over to his fretful form. Some gasped and others muttered rude comments. But Gamzee looked directly in his eyes with a gaping mouth.

Tavros handed the kind teacher his excuse and he stumbled to a desk in the farthest corner in the room away from everyone. It was the desk everyone stayed away from because they assumed a dead kid who just went to sit down in his seat.

"Class, please continue to jot down notes from your packets," Mr. Ingraham commanded as he flipped on some classic music. Classic music for a classic guy.

Tavros looked down at his desk and felt an aspyxiated stare smolder him. He glaced over to see Gamzee incredulously looking at him. The tall stoner was about to get up, but the teacher with salt and pepper hair knelt next to Tavros.

Mr. Ingraham began, "Tavros, it's okay if you didn't finish all of the work I sent home, but did you want to take notes-"

"I.. uh.. already f-finished all of the w-work and I.. uh.. took notes on the entire t-thing already.." Tavros managed to stifle out.

"That's great! If you want to, you could make a few errands for me or you can talk to one of your friends while I check over your work and such."

"I.. can I do some e-errands?" Tavros asked, still feeling Gamzee's eyes on him. He'd do anything right about now to get out of the classroom.

"Yeah, sure," Mr. Ingraham walked over to his desk to grab a paper and a hall pass only to walk back over to Tavros. "Can you take this down to the copy room to get about 200 copies of this?" Tavros nodded and he took the pass and paper from the teacher's hand and he swiftly got up and left the room.

As soon as he left, Gamzee's hand shot up. "Can I use the motherfuckin bathroom?"

Mr. Ingraham rolled his eyes, but he signaled for him that it was okay. At this point, no teacher corrected his foul mouth because it was futile. Gamzee leapt up and ripped a hall pass off the hook and left the classroom.

Gamzee looked left and right for Tavros and he saw him turn a corner to the left, so he hurried after the boy in the empty corridor.

"Tavros!" He shouted at him. He saw the shorter boy whip around. Gamzee stopped a foot in front of him and grabbed onto his shoulders. "Where the fuck have you been, motherfucker!?"

Tavros wiggled out his grip. "I-I was s-sick.." He lied.

"And you couldn't let a motherfucker know you were all up and sick?" Gamzee asked, annoyed. Gamzee grabbed onto his shoulders again and shook him. _"Everyone thought you were dead!" _

_"W-what?" _Tavros questioned in disbelief. "I-I'm not dead.."

"Well no shit, fuckin Sherlock! Even through my damn haze I could see that, motherfucker! Although, I couldn't tell if you were really there or not.. hey.. where's that bitch that you were with? I haven't seen her in a few weeks either.."

Tavros froze at the mention of _her. _He avoided eye contact with the vertically gifted boy. "We.. umm, broke up.." _The breakup was terrible. _

"Finally! That motherfucking cunt was no good.." Gamzee's face scrunched up just thinking about her.

Vriska Serket.

She had practically forced Tavros to go out with her. She wouldn't allow the poor boy to hang out or even talk to his friends. She was such a control freak that she hacked his pesterchum and blocked all of his chums except her own chumhandle. She did the same thing to his phone contacts. She even blocked Rufioh's number and Tavros had one hell of a time explaining to his older brother what happened.

Luckily, Rufioh wasn't too mad, especially when Tavros said that he would break up with her the next day. But when Tavros initiated his plan, Vriska beat the shit out of him and Rufioh had to call the cops and get a restraining order.

It didn't stop her.

Tavros had to stop thinking about it all.

Vriska Serket was crazy and psychotic. Period.

"So, brother," Gamzee started, "Why don't we skip Ingraham's and make up for lost time, yeah?" The male put his arm around Tavros's shoulder and tried to steer him somewhere else, but Tavros leniently shoved him away.

"Gamzee. I-I don't think we should hang out.. at all.. I just want to be alone," Tavros clenched his fists and continued onwards to the copying room. "I'm sorry.. I think it's best that people leave me alone."

The gigantic young man with messy hair was taken aback by the rejection.

Tavros was one of select few people he favored and he favored the Taurus the most. And here he was telling him they shouldn't be friends and walking away without a second thought.

"Tavbro, why are you up and doin' this? Did.. did I do something wrong?" Gamzee asked in shock. He didn't give an answer back. "Is.. is there a motherfuckin reason why you're doin' this?"

"I don't need a reason.. just.. just leave me the hell alone!" Tavros yelled at him. Gamzee cringed at his words and just let him walk away. "It's for your own good," Tavros whispered to himself. He heard Gamzee's footsteps retreat and soon only his footsteps echoed through the halls. As much as it hurt, he wasn't going to burden anyone with his baggage. Especially not Gamzee.

* * *

_What the fuck did I fucking do wrong!? Why the motherfuck is he doing this shit!? What the fuck happened 'cause I certainly know that motherfucker wasn't sick! His ass sucks dick at lying! But if it wasn't me that's bothering him, is it that motherfuckin cuntwhore that mistreated him!? 'Cause if it is, I'ma smacka bitch and that bitch'll be her! _ Gamzee thought to himself as he slid back into his seat. In all honesty, he was hurt and pissed. He probably would've went on a rampage if he was sober and killed a few people.

_He's hiding something from me and I need to find out. _


	2. Terminally Cannabis

**To my first reviewer, I thank you for that lovely review. It boosted my confidence because I thought that the first chapter sucked balls. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'll try to update when I have the time and when I don't have writer's block. Feel free to PM me when you feel like talking about the Taurian things.**

**This chapter contains drug use of the marijuanas.**

**NO, I HAVE NEVER DONE DRUGS AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.**

**Chapter 2, commence!**

* * *

Equius Zahhak, Nepeta Leijon, and Tavros Nitram were strolling next to each other outside of the school after the day ended. They moved out of earshot of any eavesdroppers and Equius kicked Tavros in the shin.

"Still sturdy and solid. That is good," Equius stated. "I am glad to see that the metal is holding up fine and that the joints are functioning properly."

"Are they comfurrtable?" Nepeta asked Tavros while bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was such an adorable girl with her cat hat and oversized green jacket. She almost always smiled and she was just fun to be around in general.

"Uh.. yeah.. they just feel kinda weird, that's all.." Tavros wiggled one of his metal legs under his pants as if to get a feel for them. "I.. uh.. never had metal legs before, so you know.. it's just, uh, weird.. but the craftsmanship is outstanding, Equius."

"Yes, Equius crafted those legs purrfectly~" Nepeta giggled as she tugged Equius's arm. "He wouldn't stop until he was finished~!"

"Oh.. Thank you, Equius, but I could have waited.." Tavros blushed with embarrassment.

"It is no problem. Nepeta wanted you to walk and be happy," He said modestly in return.

"Yeppers~! Hehe, you're so adorable when you smile~!" Nepeta poked at the faint dimples in the boy's cheek with her index fingers. He yelped a little and stepped backwards from the feline associated female.

"Uh.. um.. thank you.." Tavros stuttered. "Well.. I need to go now.. I'll see you both tomorrow!" Tavros turned and began to walk away from his little posse and barely listened to their farewells.

* * *

Gamzee had been watching the trio carefully trying to pinpoint what they were saying by reading their lips. He had seen Equius kick Tavros's shin and say something like "Milkshakes are bitchtits wicked and are very good," but he highly doubted it. Curse his sucky lip reading! Their lips were hard enough to see on drugs, so what the fuck did you expect?

He felt a tinny spark of jealousy when he saw Tavros blush at something Equius said and when Nepeta poked his dimples. Finally, he observed the little Spanish/Italian boy spin around and leave, which was his cue to engage him.

Gamzee was definitely still hurt about what Tavros said to him, but he hoped that since it was his first day back in over a month, he was just agitated.

He waited for the boy to begin walking away from the school down the old and uneven concrete they called sidewalks, but it didn't happen. Tavros stopped at the parent pick-up lot and got into a white car his brother Rufioh had pulled up next to him.

_God damn it! He always used to walk home! I should've motherfucking thought this shit through! _Gamzee kicked a rock that sat in front of him and stomped his foot. He'd have to confront him at school again because this was all just crazy! Tavros wants to be friends with him, right? Tavros was just stressed this morning, right?

Gamzee really fucking hoped so.

The lanky boy just sauntered over to his indigo truck and pulled himself into the driver's seat lazily. He slammed his forehead onto the wheel and caused the horn to belt out a loud honk. _"Seriously. _Why won't he talk to me? What the motherfuck did I do?"

After maybe 10 minutes of moping, he finally started up his car and left the school's parking lot and headed back to his oversized home.

When I say oversized, I mean a god damn mansion.

His father owns some sort of lawnring business and it produces weed whackers and lawnmowers and such. The weed whackers especially are of the utmost quality and true, they are costly, but they are extremely durable and difficult to break.

But his father is not home very often because he's overseas or at caucuses.

When he _is _home, Gamzee rarely speaks to him or spends time with him. Instead, Gamzee chills with his older mute brother, Kurloz. Although, it's kind of hard to communicate sometimes because Gamzee needs to really focus on his signing or he might gaffe up the words.

After yet another 10 lovely minutes, Gamzee pulled into the 4 car garage and exited his truck. Without saying a thing or greeting anyone, he bounded up to the third floor and went into his large room. He shut the door behind him and locked it.

Faygo cans and bottles littered his indigo carpeting as well as horns and soiled clothing. A pile of these horns sat somewhere off to the side.

The grey walls were decorated floor to ceiling with black lights and band posters like A7X, Bloc Party, 30 Seconds to Mars, Coheed & Cambria, Hollywood Undead, Knife Party, Queen, Slipknot, Radiohead, Mindless Self Indulgence, Sublime, System of a Down, etc. You get the fucking point.

A king sized bed with royal purple and black bedding resided in the far left corner of the room and a set of double doors led out onto an applausable scaled balcony. On the left hand was his desk that took up a good piece of wall and corner. His art work embellished the walls with gory images and clowns eating nasty shit. A bright white rug sat in the middle of the room creating a stark contrast to the colder color pallet. A mini fridge and a small shelf and cabinet of snacks sat in another corner of the room next to his bathroom and walk in closet.

He lugged his lazy stoner ass over to the tiny refrigerator and grabbed a grape Faygo from it and chugged some of the contents. Then he ripped open the cabinet and rifled through it until he found a canister. He popped off the top and pulled out an item of its contents - a pre-rolled blunt. He took out a rainbow chrome Zippo lighter and put his lips to the Mary Jane roll and lit that bitch up.

Gamzee took a deep puff of it and let the smoke wisp through his lungs and fall out of his mouth and nose like silk. He took a breath of air and moved over to a stereo and plugged his iPod in on top and let it blare out loud and more than likely obnoxious rap music.

Thankfully his old man allowed him to have soundproof padding installed under the floorboards and in between his walls because he played his music so loud. No joke, before the soundproofing, you could literally hear every note and every damn breath the singers took. Even Kurloz was signing angrily about how annoying it was.

Gamzee pulled the blunt to his mouth again and proceeded to make smoke rings and other cool shit I guess. He felt his mind cloud and everything started to seem hazy.

He loved the feeling of it because it made him forget and escape from the day. The marijuanas brought him motherfucking miracles and he thanked his mirthful messiahs for that.

The fucking giant flopped on his bed and tried to ignore the fact that it was only Monday. God, the week was already off to a shitty start, so it wasn't very different from any other week, he supposed.

Before he fell asleep after a nice hit of cannabis, he hoisted himself up to find something productive to do.

Alas, the only thing he could remotely think of was visiting Tavbro, but obviously it would more than likely futile at the moment. Instead, he decided to just go bother Kurloz for the time being. Maybe time would pass by faster than normal.


	3. Capricious Avoidance

_Nothing could stop the pain erupting from where his legs were being ripped from. _

_He could feel every tear in his muscle, every crack and pull of his bone, every blood vessel rip apart and explode. _

_The suddenly his legs were invisible, a foreign feeling. _

_Blood gushed out of his sockets that once held his long slender legs. _

_He heard the maniacal female cackles that just dripped of the utmost insanity. _

_The smell of candy copper blood radiated through the air as a metal arm came down and clamped itself over his mouth. _

_"Well, we wouldn't want anyone to hear you, now would we?" The girl cackled again with her face still hidden by the shadows. _

_Tavros's eyes darted around as wide as saucers and he let them move over the single harsh lightbulb the hung over him. This was it. He was trapped and he couldn't run away. He had no legs any longer. _

_He was a prisoner of Vriska Serket. _

_"You're not going anywhere now! You're mine forever!" She burst out in a fit of giggles once more. _

* * *

Tavros whipped his body upwards and he let out a horrific scream.

He was bathed in sweat and his pajamas were sticking to his flushed physique. He gasped for breath and clutched his forehead with his clammy hands. Tavros shook and began to sob to himself from the terrible nightmare.

He had these nightmares every night and usually his brother came in to comfort him.

As if on cue, Rufioh burst open the door and flicked on the light. Then the male ran over to his younger brother and wrapped his arms around the quivering form.

"Shhhh, it's okay, Tavros.. you're safe now.. she can't get you.." Rufioh continued to rock the poor boy in his arms for awhile until he didn't feel anymore hot tears stain his night shirt.

When Tavros began to shimmy out of his older brother's grip, Rufioh let go of him and ran a hand through his own shaggy black and red tipped hair.

Tavros looked up at Rufioh with puffy and red rimmed brown eyes and said, "I'm sorry to wake you up.." He rubbed his eyes before speaking again. "Thank you, Rufioh.. you're always here for me and I wish I knew how to make it up.."

Rufioh smiled at him and hugged his sibling once more. "Don't worry about it, Tav. That's what older brothers are for. That and teaching you how to egg someone's house without being caught. Also for helping you with homework."

Tavros chuckled and squeezed his brother. "You have to know how to do math and English to help me with homework, Rufioh." Tavros gently pushed away and laughed again.

"Hey, listen here smartass, I have a very high GPA, thank you very much!"

"I bet it's because you copied off of your friend!"

"No I didn't, dork." Rufioh flicked Tavros's forehead and stood up. "Are you okay now, douchepants?"

Tavros gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine now. Thank you, Rufioh. Goodnight!" Tavros gave a small wave and Rufioh returned his smile and walked over to the door. He flipped the light off and left the door open an inch or so.

After he left and Tavros heard Rufioh's door click shut, he got up and tiptoed into the bathroom quietly.

He looked at himself in the mirror under the bright lights and observed his form. The angel bite and septum piercings he wore were taken out for the night, his feathery brown mowhawk was a rat's nest, and his eyes were puffy and tinged red and the irises turned an odd shade of green. His usual tan and rich skin was pale and damp from the sweat and he had rings of black under his eyes.

Tavros turned on the sink faucet and rinsed his face a few times and proceeded to pat it dry with a clean washcloth. He checked himself over again in the mirror and then he ventured back into his room.

Once more, he clamored back into his soft bed and he felt around for his stuffed animal, Tinkerbull. It was a plush snow white bull complete with wings and a matching septum piercing like Tavros himself had.

When Tavros was young, he ran over to the most peculiar stuffed animal at a toy store and he had named it Tinkerbull because he absolutely adored Peter Pan. That, and the bull stuffy just reminded him of the bad tempered fairy, Tinkerbell.

Tavros pulled the downy creature close to his body and closed his big eyes. He attempted to fall asleep once more, but it proved futile, so he just laid there, thinking. He thought about many things; flying away, having his own flesh and blood legs, Peter Pan, his trauma, and Gamzee who he had totally dissed.

How was Tavros supposed to face him tomorrow in school? They had almost every class together including lunch. They had filled out similar schedules so they could see and talk to each other more because they were close friends. But now it was all going to be flipped upsidedown because Tavros just HAD to date the psychotic chick with a fuckin cyborg arm and an artificial eye.

Oh clap, clap, _clap. _

Nice job, Toreadumbass.

Tavros nuzzled his face against his stuffed object and tried to wash away all of the shitty thoughts so he could go the fuck to sleep already.

* * *

Gamzee stepped onto the school yard and let out a long sigh. The only reason he was interested in even coming to school was because of his cute little motherfucker, Tavros. Gamzee spotted the adorable little dude walking to the doors and cautiously avoiding other humans.

The shorter boy had felt a sharp gaze on him and his eyes darted around until they fell on Gamzee. The mowhawked teenager felt his eyes widen and he sped up unexpectedly. Tavros slipped inside the large building and ran through the corridor to his homeroom class and made sure he got a seat far away from everyone else. Like he had stated before, no other types of contact besides with Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak.

He never really needed to go to his locker or drop anything off in it because he carried around a bag and as little as he could. That and his locker was casually located next to his middle school bullies. They stopped beating the living shit out of him after Gamzee caught them in the act and proceeded to smash their faces against the walls repeatedly. However, those boys were not happy with Tavros or Gamzee and emotionally abused them at any chance they got.

And oh sweet lord. If they found out about what the fuck happened to him and his metal legs, that'd be the death of him. Not that it already wasn't.

Tavros pulled his first period's folder and notebook out and set his shit up and sat there waiting for class to begin. Science was definitely not his favorite, but math takes the cake for his most hated class. How dare Satan put the alphabet in math! It's not that he was bad at it, it's just that it was very time consuming and boring as fuck. Like seriously _y, _we can't fucking solve why your stupid _x _won't come back. Why? Because no one gives a single fuck.

Tavros unzipped his pencil case and pulled out a calculator, a pen, a pencil, an eraser, and a highlighter. He began to copy down notes from the board that he had missed the day before and then he just chilled for a little while just waiting for homeroom to end.

That's when Gamzee stepped inside the classroom. The air filled with tension around the two boys.

"Sup motherfucker," He said to the teacher, Mr. Humphrey.

Mr. Humphrey just chuckled at the foul language and replied, "Good morning, Gamzee. Is there any sentence you say that does not involve cursing?"

"I can't really fuckin' say there is, teach." This brought another laugh from the laid back teacher. He usually just made them copy notes and do worksheets and labs while playing some Pink Floyd, Queen, or the Beetles. No one ever had a damn problem with this class or even complained about the work. It was relatively good, especially in the mornings.

"Well, at this point in the year I can't really tell ya to watch your mouth considering that even old Ingraham let's you slide now. Now go sit down and wait for class to start, okay?"

"Sounds good, motherfucker. May I recommend some bitchtits wicked music by Bloc Party today?"

"Of course, Makara. Now go sit your ass down."

"'Kay old man. I'm goin', see? This motherfucker's movin' his lazy ass to his seat." Gamzee scanned the room and noticed that Tavros was not sitting in his usual seat that had always been next to Gamzee. He let out a low huff of slight annoyance, but he sat down in his assigned seat and tried to not feel hurt.

* * *

It was Friday and Tavros still refused to even spare a glance over at Gamzee, and let's just say Gamzee was not taking this well.

He threw down his deep purple backpack in his room and kicked it so hard that he busted his pencil case. Gamzee than punched a lovely hole in his wall that was sure to come out of his allowance here soon and then he smashed a black light bulb against his desk.

After that small outburst, he went over to his metal container and found the fattest blunt concealed within it and hurriedly lit it up. He sighed and relaxed his shoulders a little when he inhaled the first time and then fully relaxed around the third or fourth inhale.

Gamzee slid to the floor against the snack cabinet and let the hazy and thick smoke begin to fill his room. _I should bake a motherfuckin pie. _He thought as he sat there surrounded by the herbal haze.

After a few more minutes of inhaling and exhaling the sweet earth, he pulled his fat ass up and made his way to the kitchen.

Like everything else, his kitchen was grand and well finished. Black marble countertops and a smooth white marble floor to go along with it. There were up to date stainless steel appliances and black modern cabinets. A large island sat in the middle of it all with drawers stocked with utensils, ingredients, and miscellaneous items. A food pantry was off to the side and there was a hole in the floor with a clear door and spiral stairs. It lead to the floor drink cooler that had all sorts of beverages on the chilled walls.

But this motherfucker just wanted a pie.

In his stupor, he pulled out a bag of weed and set off for ingredients. After ten minutes of searching through the abundant supplies, he came up with a pie tin, some pie crusts, and some fruit fillings. He was taking it easy tonight considering he just wanted his shit and it was a Friday night. He preheated the oven and set to work on cooking up his bitchtits wicked dessert.

* * *

Okay, maybe he made more than one pie.

Gamzee woke up the next morning on the floor of his room with apple and weed pie stuck to his paint smeared face and a few pie tins scattered around his form. Sticky chunks of it were entwined in his thick black mane and it was attached to his big purple hoodie and black skinny jeans.

He sat up with a lazy grin on his face and pulled hiself up off the dark carpeting. He dragged himself to his bathroom and peeled off his clothes and turned on the shower.

He lackadaisically watched face paint and crusty food swirl down his drain and he let out a sigh as the hot water pelted his back.

But he still knew that this did not solve his problem with Tavros.

Gamzee would just have to approach him when he least expected it. However, Gamzee didn't think it would be that simple considering it was like Tavros had a weird shield up 24/7.

Gamzee squirted a large amount of shampoo in his hand and began to run it through his coarse hair. Maybe he could just go to Tavros's house? It was only 10 in the morning on a Saturday and he knew that neither Rufioh or Tavros's mother would be there.

Would Tav freak out and call the cops or tell Gamzee to get off his property? Shit. Gamzee had no idea how the boy would react.

He rinsed the shampoo from his hair and proceeded to lather it in conditioner.

What would Gamzee even say to him if Tavros allowed him to stay or come inside?

Wow. Gamzee could actually think right even with the strong influence of marijuana.

Like hell Tavros would even give Gamzee a chance to speak. Gamzee knew Tavros well and when Tavros wanted someone to stay away, that was final for him. But Gamzee just _couldn't _stand it. They've been close friends for years. And Tavros just wanted to throw it all away like it was nothing?

There was no fucking way that Gamzee Makara was going to just sit back and allow this to happen. No sir!

School was going to be out in another 2 weeks and he decided that he will get through to his best friend before then!

Hopefully, this would not fail miserably. Gamzee didn't think he could go on without Tavros. He had already lost him for over a month and he wasn't going to lose him again.


	4. An Insufferable Prick

**Hello there, dear viewers. I thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, follows, and favorites because they mean the world to me to know that I am doing an okay job with this story.**

**I am on Act 5, Scene 2 of Homestuck and it's getting really good. Sadly, I couldn't read anymore of it over the weekend because my sister took the laptop to the beach with her, so I'll have to wait to read it in school for the rest of the last school week.**

**I hope you're enjoying the story so far and feel free to leave suggestions and constructive criticism for me because that stuff actually helps. If you are going to leave criticism, then please put what you think I can do better and point it out rather than just saying my story sucks or something. If people wouldn't do it to you, then please do not do it to them.**

**Let's get chapter 4 up and running!**

* * *

It's Monday afternoon in school again and it's lunch.

A certain insufferable prick sees an opportunity that he thinks he can go for.

Dave Strider has been carefully (and silently) observing the suddenly unstable relationship between Gamzee Makara and Tavros Nitram.

He noticed how Tavros would seemingly avoid the Makara scum at all costs and how he would blatantly ignore the stupid fuckface.

Dave was enjoying this all behind his blank cool kid mask that he always took the smug liberty of equipping.

Makara had a reason to hate Strider's guts, but Dave didn't really hate Gamzee; he just had fun getting a rise out of him. Well, maybe Gamzee had pulled a few dick moves, but Dave couldn't really say he himself hadn't before.

The only thing that Dave had disliked about teasing the rip off juggalo was that Tavros could easily calm Clownfuck down, especially through physical contact.

But now it seems the tables have turned in the young Strider's favor.

Dave Strider had found an opportunity to make Tavros his while hurting Gamzee in the process. And oh boy, was he going to milk it for all it was worth.

He would start by closing in on Tavros and flaunting a budding friendship around in Gamzee's face. This would send Gamzee into rage mode and Tavros will most likely have no clue why. This will cause Gamzee to stretch the void between him and Tavros even more.

Dave almost smiled at the thought of seeing Gamzee becoming a wrathful mess and trying to contain himself from directing it straight towards Strider or even Nitram.

Tavros and Dave were already friends one could suppose, but Gamzee always had been there to steer the shorter of the two away from the blond. With Gamzee not in his usual position of being side by side with his Tavbro, Dave has an extreme leverage of getting to know Tavros better and speaking more to him.

This plan was just about flawless.

* * *

_Ugh. It's that dickweed, Dave motherfucking Strider. I just want to rip off his goddamn testicles and rip out his spine every time I see that motherfucking straightfaced clusterfuck. Who the fuck wears sunglasses inside anyway? Only tools like him, apparently. _Gamzee thought to himself as he glared at the blond douchebag.

Dave scanned the lunchroom and made eye contact with Gamzee through his dark shades and let a smirk smear itself across his usually monotone face. Gamzee pounded his fist against the table and grit his pure white teeth. A few of his startled friends and a few random peers looked over at him, but he ignored them.

Gamzee hated Dave Strider ever since he sent him that fucking music video by Insane Clown Posse. It was utter blasphemy against his religion and how _dare _he send him something so shameful!

Not only did Dave send him that _sacrilege, _but he's also countlessly made jokes and spread rumors about Gamzee and his religion. People mostly tended to avoid him now all thanks to Dave shitstain Strider.

Speaking of the desecrator, he was smirking even more at Gamzee from his reaction.

Karkat placed a small hand on his shoulder and Gamzee let out a heavy huff.

"He pisses me the fuck off.." Gamzee muttered.

"I know how much you hate him but that fuckass isn't worth your time so just let it go, Gamzee," Karkat told him. The shorty's red eyes bore into Gamzee's deep blue ones in attempt to get his point across. Dave began to walk away from the spot he was smirking from. "See? That queefwaffle is going away, so calm your fucking mosquito bites!"

Gamzee just grumbled under his breath and stabbed a fork in his packed steak. He mercilessly chopped it to bits with a probably not allowed steak knife and he roughly shoved bites in his mouth.

He watched Dave's movements like a hawk and nearly did a chunky spit take when he saw the little cockwrangler sit down next to Tavros at the cute little motherfucker's lunch table. Equius and Nepeta looked at Dave in surprise and Tavros shied away from the asslicker.

Dave appeared to be talking to him and finding excuses to touch him and it was very unsettling for Gamzee. He stabbed his steak knife so hard on the table that the point stuck in the wooden surface. Necks snapped at the action and Karkat had to let a few loud curses loose at the gawkers.

"YOU CUMDUMPSTERS BETTER GET THOSE FUCKING NECKS CHECKED OUT OR I'LL CULL YOUR GODDAMN ASSES, YOU SQUAWKING SHITDICKS," Karkat exclaimed. The pupils quickly reverted their gaze away and began to speak in harsh whispers.

* * *

Dave would take any chance he got when Tavros wasn't looking to flash a malevolent and cocky simper at Gamzee. Dave also took the chance to lean as close to Tavros as he could manage because the male kept pulling back.

"So Tavros. Wanna hang out at my place after school?" Dave asked him.

"Um.. no thanks.. I'm not really up for something like that.." Tavros managed. Why wouldn't he go away already? Tavros was not thrilled by the Strider joining his lunch table.

Nepeta on the other hand was excited. She was adding on to her shipping chart now which was something Tavros was used to, but not when it involved him.

"Hehehe.." Nepeta giggled under her breath. Equius just sighed and watched his best friend scribble in a new ship.

"Do you at least want to chill sometime this week?" Dave persisted. It was usually easy for him to get people to hang out with a cool guy such as himself.

"Look, Dave.. I'm just not really interested in hanging out with people so, can you please just, uhh, go away please?" Tavros said to him as nice as he could.

"Oh. Well.. just pester me if you ever do. You know my chumhandle," Dave got up from the bench and walked away, but not before turning back and winking at him.

* * *

Gamzee slapped his hands on the table and stood up. Dave was really starting to push it. He had spitefully interacted with Tavros when he knew there was a rough patch going on in their relationship and then he had proceeded to squeeze it as much as he could.

"Sit your clown ass down, Gamzee! You've attracted enough negative attention already as it is! The last thing you need is to be seen smashing Strider's shitty face against a brick wall!" Karkat yanked on Gamzee's arm and forced him to fall back on the bench. Karkat leaned over and whispered, "Are you jealous of that fucknut or something? Come on, everyone is seeing how you and Tav's relationship is falling apart for some reason, so you might as well admit what the fuck you did wrong and why you're envying Dave of all people!"

"I didn't do shit and I am NOT jealous of the motherfucking anal astronaut!" Gamzee hissed back. "Tav just all up and told me to leave him alone last motherfucking Monday! I have no motherfucking clue why!"

"Well have you tried, I don't know, _talking to him?_"

"Do you really fuckin think I haven't motherfucking tried that, Karkat!? He runs away every time I go near him! I have no motherfucking clue what to do! Oh, let me just strap on my fuckin Know What To Do helmet and fire my fuckin self off into I Know What To Say Land and magically know what the motherfuck I'm supposed to do in a situation like this! Gee, thanks, Karbro! I'm glad you know exactly what to motherfuckin say to me it a time like this! This _really _would have motherfuckin helped me too last Monday!"

"Alright, shit-for-brains! I get your point, douche canoe! It's hard to believe you're high and not sober."

"Don't motherfuckin joke about that Karkat.."

"Sorry, Gamzee. You know I didn't mean it.." The duo was silent for a minute until Karkat cleared his throat. "Maybe I could talk to Tavros for you? He can't just keep shunning you, you know."

Gamzee sighed and stared down at his mutilated cow slab. He plucked the knife out of the table and set it down gently before taking another bite of his lunch coated in steak sauce. He chewed it slowly and felt his appetite diminish, which was not normal for him even though he was as skinny as could be.

"I dunno man. Maybe Tavros and I have just grown apart," Gamzee said with an uncertain frown. "He just doesn't seem to like me anymore for some odd reason.."

"Gamzee! There is no way in hell that Tavros would just stop being friends with you! There has got to be a reason behind all of this! You haven't even seen him for a month for fuck's sake! There is no way that you have done anything wrong, so you better shove that shit out of your pie-eating shart pan and think a little more logically!" Karkat snapped again, but he softened his voice when Gamzee cringed. "Look, just get him when he's not paying attention or try to get through to him on Pesterchum or something. You know how Tavros is; he can't ignore you forever. You two have been friends for a long time and I know he can't just drop this friendship like it's Kim Kardashian's dirty underwear. But you need to talk to him and more importantly, you need to make _him _talk, okay?"

Gamzee just solemnly nodded his head and continued to pick at his now cold steak that was shown no mercy from the knife nor the fork.

"But I need you to answer a question for me, Gamz," Karkat said. Gamzee looked at him and nodded a little more. "Why were you so upset that Dave went over and started talking to Tav?"

Gamzee looked away and just gazed at his food as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Answer me, Gamzee. Tell me why you got so worked up over it," the Albino pried.

The bell rang out through the cafeteria and Gamzee quickly cleaned and packed up his shit and made a beeline for the exit. He ignored his white haired friend's protests and slung his bag over his shoulder and navigated through the already crowded hallways with experienced precision.

_Why was I up and jealous over that motherfucker who wears fuckin shades all day!? But why was he brushing his filthy and unclean hands all over my friend!? That blond fucknugget needs to back the motherfuck off or I'ma smacka bitch. _Gamzee halted himself and quickly ran into the nearest male bathroom. _What the motherfuck is wrong with my ass today!? _Gamzee shook his head and splashed water from the tap in his face.

Once more, he let out a deep sigh and studied his reflection before reapplying his clown makeup he had so impetuously rinsed down the sink. He checked for imperfections in his paint job and when he decided it was okay, he ran to his next class.

* * *

Dave was reclined in his computer chair waiting for a futile expectation of a pesterlog window with adiosToreador to pop up, but alas, it never happened.

It was about 8 o' clock and there wasn't much to do in his apartment except maybe strife with bro or fuck around with the smuppets. All of it sounded boring in Mister Cool Kid's eyes though, so he just sat there staring at his desktop with an unceremoniously blank expression.

No one else was on besides terminallyCapricious, who Dave even wondered why he was still chums with on here, and arachnidsGrip.

That was odd. No one has heard from her in over a solid month.

Best to steer away from that psychotic bitch anyways. She was a backstabber, liar, nut job, and an overall skank.

Dave rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and just decided to shut down his computer and spread himself out on his bed. He stripped to his underwear, turned a fan towards himself, and flopped out his skinny form on top of his somewhat uncomfortable bed.

_What a day. _


	5. Strider vs Makara (Part I)

**Oh my fucking god. You'll never believe what happened and why I took so long to update.**

**Well, the good news is that I'm finally out of school for the summer, so hecks yeah, raise the motherfuckin roof. More chapters and more stories. I'm going to release a SolKat one here soon..**

**But anyway. The reason why I took so long to update was because I sort of kind of accidentally deleted the document for chapter 5 and it was exactly 2,100 words long and I nearly lost my shit. I'm sorry if this chapter sucks because I am just so fucking done.**

**Let's not waste any more time babbling and get down to business, my favorite motherfuckers.**

* * *

"Gamzee, shut the fuck up! It's never going to happen! You're dumber than I thought you were if you think that Tavros would actually like hanging out with that douchebag, Dave," Karkat scolded his tall friend. "We all know that Dave is just trying to piss you off and get into that innocent little vegetable's pants!"

Gamzee tried to argue with his short and very angry friend, but he was cut off.

"And oh my god Gamzee. Really? You really think that Tavros would seriously go for someone who is probably the pinnacle of debauchery, vanity, and pride? Please. Tavros is not that type of person and we both know it, you stupid sack of fecal matter! It's obvious that you have a thing for Tavros, so why not just go for it? If you haven't noticed, he likes you back, shithead."

Gamzee flinched and just watched Karkat push past him to the den in his finished basement with a red overnight bag slung over his shoulder. "Well gee, motherfucker, when ya put it like that, it sounds all motherfuckin better," He said honestly. He was not lying or being sarcastic, because of actually did make him feel a little better.

"That's because there's nothing to worry about in your cannabis cluttered brain!" Karkat dropped his backpack on the den's futon couch and hooked up the PS2 and flipped on the giant plasma screen. "But, to be honest, you still might want to be careful while stepping with Strider. He may feign ignorance and may actually be arrogant, but he is still not one to entirely fuck around with." He opened the case for Kingdom Hearts and carefully placed the game inside of the console and grabbed a remote. He turned on the somewhat old system and loaded his game. He was stuck inside of Monstro, that annoying fucking whale.

"I get that, brother, but you can't all up and expect me not to think Dave'll try something sneaky."

"GAMZEE. Just stop. Dave is not going to do anything! End of discussion!"

Karkat plopped down into a red bean bag chair and Gamzee stood up for quite a few uncomfortable silence filled minutes.

"Why the hell did Pinnochio have to be a little bitch and follow Riku into the fucking whale's insides!? Not even a magical puppet who thinks he's a real boy could be that idiotic!" Karkat made Sora jump through rooms and caverns, eventually ending up back in Chamber 1. "GOD DAMN IT!"

Gamzee finally decided to sit in the deep indigo bean bag next to Karkat. "Even I made it through that motherfuckin whale.." He snickered and one of Karkat's red eyes twitched.

"Where the fuck is the guide?" Karkat hissed without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Deciding to be a cheater now?" Gamzee laughed again as Karkat threw a nearby pillow at his face and hit him square in the forehead.

"Fuck you!"

* * *

- arachnidsGrip [AG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -

AG: Hello, Daveeeeeeee. ::::)

TG: oh my god what the hell do you want you creepy spider freak?

AG: 8e nice.

AG: How are you?

TG: why the hell do you care?

AG: I'm trying to 8e nice, unlike some people.

TG: no one has heard from you in over a month

AG: I have my reasons, Dave.

TG: what reasons are those?

AG: That's none of your fucking 8usiness.

AG: How's Taaaaaaaavros?

TG: why should i tell you? he hates your guts

AG: 8ecause he's mine, Dave.

AG: 8ack off. ::::)

TG: is that why you took precious time out of my day to tell me?

TG: to back off someone who is obviously not yours anymore?

AG: He may 8e just a 8roken toy, 8ut he will always 8elong to me.

TG: that's bullshit and you know it

TG: youre just a lonely bitch who has no one and who cares about no one

AG: Gr8 comeback, Dave Strider.

AG: You wound me so.

AG: Now tell me something,

AG: When are you going to get off your high horse and stop pretending that everyone cares a8out you and your thought and feelings?

AG: You're just a little teenage twerp who thinks that the whole fucking universe revolves around you and your "coolness".

TG: at least i'm not a cunt who thinks she can own everyone and order them around like slaves.

AG: Oooooooo, so you are the little 8itch everyone says you are. When you're threatened, you just spit venom.

AG: Don't m8ke me laugh, Dave Strider.

TG: i wouldnt dream of making you laugh so everyone has the misfortune of hearing your horrendous cackle.

AG: No need to 8e so h8ful.

TG: no need to be such a cunt

AG: You're just jealous 8ecause you know that Tavros would never want to 8e with you and he practically ran into my arms.

TG: you had him wrapped up in a little web

AG: You're just mad 8ecause he picked me over you. And if he didn't pick me, we all know Gamzee would've snatched him up.

TG: yeah right. tavros with a stoner? youre joking.

AG: Don't 8e fooled 8y Gamzee, Dave. He smokes for his own reasons.

AG: And again, its none of your 8usiness unless you want Gamzee's fists 8loodying your cool kid face.

TG: if you pestered me then there has to be some reason behind why

TG: so either get to the fucking gist or go away

AG: Sheesh, calm your moo8s.

AG: All I wanted to say was 8ack the fuck off Tavros or we're going to have some serious issues.

TG: yeah right. bye, you stupid fucking spider.

AG: Good8ye, you unfathoma8le shitstain.

- arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -

Dave sat back in his computer chair, reading over the conversation. He was beyond pissed. He was full on rage mode.

How dare she bother him and tell him what he can and can't do!? How dare she treat Tavros like he was some type of object and claim him as her own when that wasn't even true!?

Why the hell was Vriska such a fucking bitch?

* * *

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! THIS BOOK IS SO CONFUSING!" Karkat tossed away the Kingdom Hearts game walkthrough guide and threw the controller away as well.

Gamzee chuckled and retrieved the objects and tried to calm him down.

"Chill, brother. Monstro is a hard motherfucker to get through.. and plus, you're not all that great at video games.." Gamzee told him.

"Shut the fuck up!" Karkat spat as Gamzee carefully placed the game guide and controller back on his lap.

All of a sudden, the front door upstairs swung open and footsteps were heard bounding across the foyer and down the basement steps.

A tall and lanky male with pale skin and black hair stepped into the vast room. He dropped a few plastic bags full of snacks on a low table and pushed his 3D glasses back up the bridge of his nose so as not to expose his eyes.

"Hey KK," Sollux grinned and made his way over to his shorter boyfriend.

"Hey fuckass," Karkat said to him as he watched Sollux pull up a yellow bean bag and place it next to his and sit down.

Sollux's gaze moved over to Gamzee as he smiled and greeted him, "Hey Gamth'ee."

"Hey motherfucker," Gamzee chuckled as they reached over Karkat and fist pumped. "Took ya long enough to get here."

"Yeah, th'orry about that.. I wath talking to th'omeone on Peth'terchum and I got caught up in the converth'ation," He explained.

"Who were you talking to?" Karkat asked, curiously.

"I wath talking to Tavroth. I wath trying to get him to talk about why he ith avoiding everyone."

"You.. talked to Tavros?" Gamzee asked in shock. A look of hurt washed over his face.

"He th'aid that he ith'n't mad at you, but he juth't thinkth that it'd be beth't that you juth didn't hang out with him any more," He tried to tell him as best as he could.

"Oh.." Gamzee's shoulders slumped at the news.

"Maybe he's just going through a rough spot right now and maybe he in fact DOES need you, Gamzee. Maybe he just thinks that he shouldn't burden you with whatever is going on with him," Karkat said trying to make his friend feel better.

"No.. he knows that he can motherfuckin' talk to me about anything.." Gamzee shook his head and stood up. "I'll.. be right back..'

Karkat and Sollux looked at each other and they turned back to Gamzee just as he began to walk up the steps. They let him go, already knowing what he was going to do.

* * *

"Tavfurros, you should just take up Dave's offur a hang out with him. You can't avoid people furrever, you know," Nepeta said to Tavros who was currently sprawled out on his bed with the back of his hand over his forehead. "Come onnn; he won't bite you, Tav!"

"I-I'm not sure about this Nepeta.. what if he find out about my legs? And plus.. if anyone besides you and Equius were to find out about my issue, then it'd be Gamzee.." Tavros said to her.

"Equius could create a fake skin shell that goes ovfur your legs!"

"I'm not sure if that'd be possible.."

"Oh.." Nepeta's shoulders sagged a little. "You're probably right.."

"I guess if that were possible, people with fake limbs would have that stuff.."

"But, at least hang out with him fur an hour or two! If anything happens, that you can call Equius and he could take care of any purroblems that might occur. Tav, please! He didn't create those legs just so you could be a silly goose who doesn't want to talk to anyone else!"

Tavros sighed in defeat. "You're right.. I'm sorry.. I'll hang out with Dave for a little bit. It couldn't hurt just to try interacting with someone else, right?"

"Right! That's the spirit, Tav~!"

* * *

It's ten at night and Dave is dicking around on the internet. Just then, the omen he's been waiting for pops up on his screen.

- adiosToreador began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -

AT: uH,,, hI DAVE.

TG: hey tavros

TG: have you thought about my sweet offer?

AT: yEAH,, i'LL ACCEPT YOUR OFFER, BUT I ONLY WOULD LIKE TO HANG OUT FOR MAYBE AN HOUR OR TWO,,

TG: okay thats cool

TG: how about we hang out tomorrow

AT: i GUESS THAT WOULD BE FINE,, iT IS GOING TO BE A SATURDAY TOMORROW,,,

TG: you can come to my apartment tomorrow at 2

AT: uH,,, oKAY I GUESS,,,

TG: ill see you then

TG: later

AT: sEE YOU TOMORROW,,

- adiosToreador ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -

Dave stretched his arms and back in content and smiled. Without clownfuck in the way, Dave could move his pieces and commence in pissing Gamzee off to a great extent.

He knew for a fact that Nepeta would probably end up blurting out that Tavros had hung out with Dave Strider over the weekend rather than Gamzee.

He smirked to himself and turned off his computer.

Oh, was he going to have such a fun time with all of this.

* * *

Gamzee sat in his room alone in the corner of his room on his bed. He stared at the ceiling with swirling thoughts as smooth smoke wove in and out of his lungs and mouth.

To be honest, he didn't know how to feel.

But he knew he needed to be alone right now.

The last thing he needed was to go fucking apeshit and start painting the walls with his friends' blood.

After he finished the blunt, he flicked the bud randomly across the room and sat there. He was so still that he could have been mistaken for a statue if not for the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest.

Instead of going back to his den and tending to his guests, he laid there and drifted off to sleep in the hazy indigo bedroom.


	6. Strider vs Makara (Part II)

**THIS CHAPTER COULDN'T HAVE BEEN WRITTEN WITHOUT MY FRIEND, BO . THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU DJJSJDNEKFNEKJSOWKALLD.**

**I seriously have had a terrible block on this chapter and she saved my sorry ass.**

**Sorry how god awful the last chapter was. I was just so fucking pissed off that I accidentally deleted the old document and I just lost writing motivation.**

**Strider vs. Makara will probably take another chapter or two, but I'll try to fit as much as I can before I lose motivation and ideas that would follow suit in this chapter.**

**Let's just hop right to it, motherfuckers!**

* * *

This apartment looked terrible in Tavros's opinion.

It was hot, messy, and it smelt weird.

Smuppets, miscellaneous objects, and scraps of garbage were strewn around on the floor and on hard surfaces. The building itself wasn't bad at all and they did technically own the roof, so yeah.

Dave stood in the frame of the door in his usual outfit. His hair was slightly messier than often and his shades were a little lower on his nose bridge.

"Sup Tavros," He said to the shorter male with a small smirk. He stepped aside and ushered him into the unkempt apartment. "Sorry that it's kind of messy."

Tavros made his way in and let himself take in the scenery.

"Hey Dave.. it's uh.. not _that _bad," Tavros looked at him and gave him a small smile.

A throaty laugh was emitted from the blond. "That's like saying Pope Benedict is a fuckin saint. Now how bad is it _really_?"

Tavros giggled in response. "Okay, it's pretty bad.."

"Maybe I should've cleaned a little."

"Maybe you should've cleaned _a lot." _Tavros giggled again and Dave walked over to him a pinched him on the arm, causing a yelp from the shorter boy.

Dave smiled at him and said teasingly, "You squeak like a chick."

"I-I do not!" Tavros blushed in embarrassment as he rubbed the spot where he was pinched.

"Yeah, you do." Before Tavros could protest, an older male emerged from a room down the hallway.

He was practically a bigger and broader version of Dave, but he wore pointy anime shades that made him look unrealistic. Bright, near platinum blond hair poked out from underneath a black baseball cap and his white shirt's top button remained unbuttoned. Fingerless gloves graced his hands and where is the- ah, yes. There's the signature Strider family smirk.

Dirk didn't say a word as he walked past Dave and ruffled his hair and gave a slight nod to Tavros and walked out the door.

Tavros shifted on his feet before speaking up, "Wasn't that Dirk, your older brother?"

"Yep," Dave said in reply. "Bro and I don't talk entirely much, but he isn't neglecting me or anything." With it being so quiet, Tavros could make out the suppressed southern accent that riddled Dave's speech. He even took notice of the spray of freckles that spread across his pale face and how darkly tinted his shades were.

Before Tavros could ask about the shades, Dave adjusted them and pushed them back up the bridge of his nose. "Are you thirsty or anything? Want some apple juice?"

"Oh.. um.. sure. Apple juice is cool. By the way, w-why is it so hot in here? H-how does it not affect you?"

Dave shrugged and walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of apple juice. "I ain't really aware of it being so hot anymore. It's normal to me." He extended a bottle of the juice to Tavros and he took it gingerly.

"Thanks.. So.. W-what do you want to do?"

"We can dick around on Bro's Xbox or we can watch a movie or just talk about shit."

"Er.. I-I.. Can we talk about stuff?"

Dave nodded and sat down at the table, beckoning Tavros to join him, which he complied willingly to. "What do you want to talk about?"

Tavros's back straightened and he sat up and set down his bottle of pissy liquid. He sighed and looked up at Dave skitterishly. "I have been wondering for a long time why you and Gamzee don't get along."

Dave's back straightened as well as he leaned forward. "So, I'm guessin' you want an explanation of why?" He got a small nod in return and it was his turn to sigh. "Well, if you really want to know, I'll tell ya. Sit back and listen to the blasphemous tale of why Gamzee Makara doesn't like Dave Strider.

"It all started about two years ago. In Freshman year. Clownfuck's Juggalo religion was off the fucking charts and it was constantly all about The Dark Carnival. He was spewing some shit about wagons, Jokers, a Ringmaster of your sins, Shangri-La and Hellspit. And then he went into Faygo and ICP and it was nuts. It was making my head pound; like, what the fuck was he laying down?

"So about a week after he told me about The Dark Carnival, I was looking through ICP music videos and I saw this one called 'Miracles' and let me just say that it probably gave me cancer. I just clicked it because Gamzee says that fucking word all the god damn time, so I sent him the link to it on pesterchum and he watched it. Well. He flipped his shit on me and told me that it was blasphemous to his religion and that I was a desecrator and all this whack shit. Ever since then, he can't even so much as look at me without getting pissed off."

"I-I remember now.. that's when he started steering me away from you and g-glaring, b-but he'd never tell me why.." Tavros looked at his apple juice and opened it, downing some of the contents. "But that seems like a silly thing to get so upset over.."

"That's not the only reason why he hates me. He thinks I have a thing for you, but to be honest, I got my eye on John Egderp. The writer of this fanfic doesn't know what she's talking about."

"W-what? Why would he be so upset if someone likes me, anyways?"

Dave quirked an eyebrow and peered at him through his dark shades. "You really don't know?" Tavros tilted his head. "Wow. Okay. And I thought JOHN was dense. Well, if you must know. Gamzee likes you. Like, more than a friend, Tavros. When you disappeared for a month, he literally thought you were never coming back. He looked really upset and if anything, he looks worse now that you're back and not talking to him."

Tavros bowed his head in shame. "I-I.. I have my reasons.."

"Do you like Gamzee back though?"

"I-I'm not sure.. This is all too much for me right now. I-I've never thought about him like that and I just can't right now.. I just can't.."

Dave's eyes suddenly widened and he snapped in realization. "It's because of Vriska, right?"

Tavros froze and slowly nodded.

"She talked to me on pesterchum. She was being really fucking creepy."

"C-can we talk about something else, please!?" He snapped and whipped up his head.

Strider put up his hands in defense. "Whoa, sorry bro. I didn't mean to annoy you or anything."

"I-I.. this was a bad idea to come here. This was Nepeta's idea and I shouldn't have listened to her. There's so much risk being here and I don't know what I was thinking. I need to go before something bad happens. God, I'm so stupid!" Tavros rambled and stood up quickly and made the table shift.

Dave looked taken aback, his usual monotone features laced in shock. He stood up and walked over to Tavros's side of the table and gripped his shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't want to come here, okay!? Nepeta kept telling me to, so I did it to shut her up! I can't be here! It's dangerous! I need to leave!" Tavros began to pull away, but Dave's grip only tightened and he was forced to keep facing him. "Let go!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"I said let go!" Tavros hit him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him, but Dave tripped him when he tried to run. A loud, empty thump occurred when the front of Tavros's legs hit the ground and he laid on the ground in horror.

Dave gasped and struggled to regain his breath. ".. W-what the fuck was that?"

Tavros weakly began to crawl away, but Dave reached down and grabbed his ankle, yanking him back across the carpeting. He whimpered and tears began to well up in his eyes.

"What the fuck is-" Dave lifted up the hem of his jeans and examined the metal ankle underneath. "Dude, what the fuck happened to you?"

At that question, Tavros ripped his ankle away and curled into a ball, grossly sobbing. "Vriska.." He whispered.

"What? Do you mean that she did this to you? What the fuck'd she do!? Rip of your god damn legs or something!?"

Weeping uncontrollably, the Hispanic boy nodded violently.

"Oh- oh my god! I'm sorry! I didn't- oh man! I knew she was psychotic, but I didn't think she would be insane enough to do something like that.. so that's why she- holy shit.." Dave's eyebrows furrowed and he facepalmed. "I am so sorry, Tavros.."

He just laid there, unmoving, bawling his eyes out. Dave could only sit and watch and try to talk to him. "M-m-my legs.. t-they're b-both gone b-because of h-her!" Tavros spat pathetically.

Dave could only look down at him pitifully and Tavros loathed it. He sat up and crawled to the door. He watched him struggle and pull himself up by using the wall. He could see him cringe at every scrape of his knees against the carpet and he knew the void he felt that he couldn't feel it.

"D-don't tell anyone! I-I won't f-forgive y-you!" Tavros glared at him through his tears and he swung open the door, stumbling out and down the hallway and down the many flights of stairs.


End file.
